World's rarest whale washes up on a beach in New Zealand

One of the world’s most elusive animals has just washed up on a beach in New Zealand.

The spade-toothed whale is, in fact, so rare that only six specimens of the species have ever been documented, and none has ever been seen alive.

Now, one of these has been found on the shores of Otago, in the southern half of New Zealand’s South Island, in what experts have hailed as a “huge” discovery.

Representatives from the country’s Department of Conservation (DOC) and The Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa went to investigate when, on 4 July, they received reports of a dead, beached whale at the mouth of the Taiari river.

They swiftly concluded that the five-metre-long (16-foot) male was a spade-toothed whale and, as such, one of the rarest animals on the planet.

The whale has now been placed in cold storage while DNA testing takes place, and it could take several weeks for its identification to be confirmed.

Given that so few examples have ever been found, and there have been no live sightings, very little is known about the whale species.

“Spade-toothed whales are one of the most poorly known large mammalian species of modern times,” DOC official Gabe Davies in a statement.

“Since the 1800s, only six samples have ever been documented worldwide, and all but one of these was from New Zealand.

“From a scientific and conservation point of view, this is huge.”

A female spade-toothed whale (pictured) was found alongisde her calf in 2010 on Opape Beach, New Zealand (Kirsten Thompson et al / Current Biology)

Until 2010, the species had only ever been identified from skeletal remains found in New Zealand and Chile, with scientists using these to declare the spade-toothed whale a brand-new species back in 1874.

Then, in 2010, the first intact specimens of a mother and calf were found off of New Zealand’s North Island, with another single specimen following in 2017.

And whilst, sadly, experts have failed so far to find a living example of the species, the fact that this latest specimen only recently died means it could become the first whale of its kind to be dissected. This could provide valuable insights into the enigmatic species.

Nevertheless, the DOC said it was mindful that New Zealand's Māori people regard whales as a sacred treasure, and stressed that local communities would be heavily involved in deciding the whale’s fate.

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